Diabetes is a serious problem with complications which cause chronic kidney disease, stroke, anxiety, eye disease or blindness, erectile dysfunction in men and even nerve damage. The cost of the diabetic effects on our bodies and to our health system has been deemed an “Economic Tsunami“ by the Diabetes Report 2015. It’s best if we understand it and learn how to avoid it.

What is Diabetes and How to Reduce the Likelihood of Getting Diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic disease where the body cannot produce insulin or the body cannot use the insulin properly. This is called insulin resistance or insulin insensitivity. This leads to high blood sugar levels or hyperglycemia which damage our organs, blood vessels and nerves. Many of us are already prediabetic which means we have a high level of blood sugar but not enough to be diabetic.

Type I Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is the form of diabetes where no or very little insulin is produced by the body. It’s an autoimmune disease and typically occurs during childhood or adolescence although some people acquire it when they are an adult. When people acquire it as an adult, it is called latent autoimmune diabetes in adults or LADA.

If you have type 1 diabetes, you must receive insulin in order to help manage diabetes. Managing your diet will help but without insulin, the body cannot use the glucose energy in the body so type 1 diabetics will always need insulin from an external source.

Type II Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is due to insulin resistance or insulin insensitivity. It can also be a lowered production of insulin. Even though there is insulin, the body is unable to take up sugar so it remains in the blood where it builds up and results in high blood sugar levels.

More than 90% of people who acquire diabetes have this type of diabetes. It’s managed through exercise, meal planning and diet as well as some external sources of insulin to assist in maintaining lower blood sugar levels.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

During pregnancy the baby grows and produces hormones which are usually easily managed by the amount of insulin produced by the mother. However in a small percentage of cases, this may not be the case and the mother has gestational diabetes. After the birth of the baby, the mother’s blood sugar level returns to pre-pregnancy levels.

However, gestational DM also puts these mothers at higher risk of future type 2 diabetes. Managing exercise, diet and meal planning are the keys to avoiding type 2 diabetes.

Prediabetes

Without knowing it, you might be prediabetic. That means you have a high level of blood sugar. There’s no easy way to know unless you go for tests. The chances are increased that you might be prediabetic if you have high blood pressure, high LDL (bad) cholesterol or other metabolic syndromes. To find out if you do, see your doctor to get tested every three years.

Management of prediabetes is similar to type 2 diabetes. It’s managing our diet, getting enough exercise and especially as we age as these are risk factors to the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Wherever your starting point, the important thing is to start and make it a lifestyle habit. Once it becomes a regular habit, it will become a great way to stay young and healthful.

Tai chi is a great place to start because the movements are simple and provide huge physical health benefits. You can start if you are pregnant or if you feel you might be prediabetic. Nobody wants to experience the complications of diabetes.

Research on Tai Chi’s Effects on Diabetes

Medical News Today reviewed two small studies originally published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in April 2008 about the effects of tai chi on people with diabetes. We already know that tai chi improves respiratory and cardiovascular function while reducing stress and improving flexibility.

The first study was with 30 people with type 2 diabetes who took 12 weeks of a tai chi exercise program compared to 30 healthy people without diabetes. After 12 weeks, the researchers found that the level of glycated hemoglobin fell significantly. Glycated hemoglobin occurs when blood sugar levels are high and it combines with the hemoglobin in the blood to form glycated hemoglobin. The researchers also measured the immune system via T cells and Interleukin levels. During this period, they found that T cell activity increased. Helper T cells produce Interleukin 12 which boosts the immune system. Overall, they found that there was increased Interleukin 12 and increased Helper T cell activity.

A second study asked 13 people with metabolic syndromes to practice tai chi for 1.5 hours three times a week for 12 weeks. Metabolic syndromes include high blood pressure and high blood glucose levels which lead to cardiovascular disease or diabetes. The participants lost an average weight of 3kg. The participants ended up with a smaller waistline by 3 cm on average. Blood pressure fell significantly more than could be explained by exercise alone according to the authors. During the program, the participants reported that:

they slept better,

felt more energetic,

experienced less pain and

had fewer food cravings.

Amazingly, by the end of the study, 3 participants saw such significant improvements that they no longer met the criteria for having a metabolic syndrome.

Enjoying Tai Chi to Manage Diabetes

Even though tai chi is practiced slowly and doesn’t trigger immunosuppression responses in the body such as the release of adrenaline or cortisol, it provides an effective workout. In fact, tai chi is known to reduce stress. A body which is more often in a rest and relax mode will spend more time metabolizing and digesting which is important to overall health. Tai chi is great for people who have metabolic syndromes as well as a variety of other health issues.

In addition, the pure enjoyment and calming effect of tai chi contributes to our body`s health and can improve the immune system. It’s low intensity but highly invigorating workout is great for improving health, reducing stress and improving mood.

If you would like to experience the health benefits of tai chi, check out our schedule and contact us to come in for a trial class.

One in 5 Canadians suffer from hypertension or high blood pressure. When we have high blood pressure, it means that we’re also at risk for:

heart attack or failure,

heart enlargement,

stroke,

arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries),

atherosclerosis (plaque formation within arteries),

and kidney disease.

Any of these will alter our quality of life for the worse so taking steps to reverse the effects is the best way to not only prolong our life but enjoy a high quality of life. Know if you’re at risk.

Here are some of the factors which may indicate that you’re at higher risk of hypertension:

age

obesity

men until age 55

women more than men after age 55

diets with too much sodium or not enough potassium

lack of physical activity

drinking too much alcohol

stress

Tai Chi as a Replacement for Pharmacological Approaches

People at risk of hypertension tend not to seek out medication as the first choice for returning their blood pressure to the normal range. When it comes to antihypertensive drugs, there may be adverse reactions or side effect.

In fact, a meta-analysis of 28 studies of adequate quality showed tai chi to be just as effective as first line antihypertensive medication when tai chi was practiced 3x a week for an hour each time over a period of 20 weeks. And, when they looked at the numbers for people who practiced more than 3 times per week, they found the blood pressure for these people reduced by even more than the traditional pharmacological approaches.

Reduce Hardening of the Arteries with Tai Chi

With high blood pressure, one of the side effects is hardening of the arteries or lack of arterial compliance. Arterial compliance is the elasticity of our blood vessels to respond to the changing needs of our bodies for blood. Our arterial compliance diminishes with age, menopause, diabetes and smoking. When we have adequate arterial compliance, we can also avoid high blood pressure and other cardiovascular pathologies associated with hardening of the arteries.

While we could improve our arterial compliance with aerobics, if we’re not in good physical condition to start with, we might find aerobics too strenuous as a starting point. Tai chi, while visually not a highly intensive work out on the surface, has amazing cardiovascular benefits including improving arterial compliance which is the key to staying young and aging gracefully.

Beyond health benefits that resemble those of traditional aerobic exercises, studies show that tai chi also significantly improves overall muscle strength and especially the extensors and flexors around the knee. Not only is this great for those of us who are aging gracefully, we’ll also exert ourselves less and maintain our balance when we can use strength to assist us in more taxing activities such as going up and down stairs or other similar activities.

Stress Reduction with the Moving Meditation of Tai Chi

Our fast paced lives manifest itself as stress on our bodies in various ways. Stress often results in high blood pressure. One of the great qualities of tai chi is that it’s been nicknamed the “moving meditation” not only because of its ability to get us focused on the movements and helping us stay in the here and now but also because if its flow of movements. This graceful flow of movements in sequence helps us slow the rhythm and pace of our own body’s flow.

Many of the studies on tai chi suggest that this meditative quality is one of the advantages of tai chi for lowering blood pressure over many of other forms of exercise.

Tai Chi is Safe & Social

Tai chi is safe to practice for many people who have physical conditions which may limit what their body can handle. High blood pressure is no different. People can feel safe that they are not going to over stress their own bodies due to the even and slow pace of movements. However, people do break a sweat and build core body strength as well. People are often fooled by its effectiveness due to the slow pace of the practice. The pace is slow only in practice to cultivate deep muscle memory. Once ingrained into our body it becomes instinctive and can be applied as a martial art.

At our studio, you can take it to this next level as well. Tai chi movement skills can be applied to the ever enjoyable weapons classes or push hands classes where people apply new found strength, flexibility and endurance to more advanced martial arts techniques.

Traditionally, tai chi has been a social event. Not only do people practice the movements together, but people share social time together. Whether it is just a cup of tea or a little time chatting before or after a practice session, people tend to get to know everyone else at the studio eventually.

What is Osteoarthritis?

It mainly affects our knees or hips as these joints bear most of the weight of our bodies but it can also affect the spine, neck, hands and feet. The OARSI or Osteoarthritis Research Society International anticipates that as our society ages, the incidence of osteoarthritis will increase.

Our aging population is most at risk but people with excessive weight and women are more prone to osteoarthritis as well. Joint injuries and abnormally high stress applied repetitively to joints are also causes of osteoarthritis. Elite athletes, professional musicians, heavy machine operators and construction workers are some of the people who are at risk based on the nature of these activities.

While osteoarthritis means inflammation of the joints and the typical symptoms are painful, swollen and stiff joints, the actual condition is defined by OARSI as the body’s failed attempt to repair joint tissue. Mainly, the cartilage at our joints wear down and the exposed bone starts to friction and deteriorate leading to ill repair of the joint tissue or osteoarthritis.

Medication can help manage pain and inflammation but it can’t stop the progression. Osteoarthritis is best managed by avoiding activities which place undue repetitive stress on our bodies and managing our weight. Most importantly, physical activity is the key to maintaining healthy joints and preventing injury whether we’re trying to prevent or even slow the progression of osteoarthritis. Even though people with osteoarthritis experience joint pain and it sounds counterintuitive to them, physical exercise of joints is exactly what is needed.

What Affects Healthy or Unhealthy Joints

Let’s consider the anatomy of our joints. Our joints are made of strong tissues such as cartilage, ligaments and other connective fibres bathed in fluids which reduce friction within the joint. The tissues are supported by our muscles and muscle tendons.

To look after our joints, we want to care for all these parts of our joints. Obviously, we want to be sure to eat well so that we have the nutrients to maintain healthy muscle and tissue. We want to avoid activities which exert abnormal pressure on our joints and this includes improper alignment of our joints. Misalignment of our joints plus repetitive use of the joint often causes parts of our joints to rub together in unintended ways which hastens the degenerative process.

We typically underestimate the importance of posture and alignment to our physical well-being and health. Poor posture and alignment is a major contributor to premature degeneration of our body including knees, spines and hips. We know that biomechanics is proper posture with movement which leverages our body structure with ease and minimal stress to our body structures. When we use the wrong posture with a movement, we place excessive stress on our body structures which causes the type of degeneration that leads to conditions such as osteoarthritis.

Finally, excessive weight also contributes to more stress on our joints, misalignments and the degeneration of joints. Increasing physical activity to reduce weight is important to reducing pain and pressure on our joints.

Managing Osteoarthritis

Multitudes of people with osteoarthritis have used painkillers (analgesics) and NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) to reduce pain, swelling and stiffness for their arthritic joints. Unfortunately, it doesn’t cure osteoarthritis or slow the progression of osteoarthritis.

When a person has osteoarthritis, the last thing they might want to do is more physical activity because the joints are in pain. But, physical activity is exactly what we need to maintain the health of our joints and especially the muscles which support our joints.

Originally, physical therapy followed by remedial exercises were recommended to people with osteoarthritis. It definitely helped but with the rapid rise of osteoarthritis among the aging population, various forms of physical activity were studied for their impact on people with osteoarthritis.

Studies about the Effects of Tai Chi on Osteoarthritis

In the Harvard Health Publication, a study of tai chi vs. strength & stretch exercises were compared. Tai chi participants saw improved muscle strength, coordination which led to a more stable joint and calmness due to the “moving meditation” qualities of tai chi practice. Mental calmness is often another way to reduce pain due to our ability to calm our nerves and reduce the stimulation of pain.

This randomized control trial of 40 people consisted of 20 people practicing tai chi for 60 minutes twice weekly for 12 weeks and another 20 people practicing wellness education and stretching exercises. The conclusion showed that people in the tai chi practice group showed reduced pain, self-efficacy, improved joint function, reduced depression and better overall health than the other group.

In a study to compare physical therapy vs. tai chi on knee osteoarthritis, 204 participants with a mean age of 60 years were evaluated over 52 weeks. It seems that tai chi is on par with physical therapy when it comes to pain reduction and various other secondary outcomes including physical function, depression, medication use, and quality of life. However, tai chi participants experienced greater improvements with depression and their overall physical quality of life.

People who practice tai chi get stronger overall with improved balance and coordination so people are more stable on their feet and don’t fall as often which prevents secondary health issues. A tai chi studio provides a social environment with a community of people who encourage and support each other so people don`t feel alone in their quest to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Tai Chi movements are performed slowly and flow smoothly from one move to the next. People pay careful attention to each move aiming to assure proper posture, alignment and balance is practiced. When practicing movement in this manner, people achieve several objectives all at once:

Avoiding aggravation of the joints due to its low impact nature

Improving range of motion or joint mobility and flexibility

Conditioning and strength for the surrounding muscles including smaller postural muscles

Improving their cardio health

A traditional tai chi form has over 80 moves that require approximately 20 – 30 minutes to complete. It’s like walking across a frozen pond for 20-30 minutes. While one or two steps are not physically intense, continuation of the activity for 20 – 30 minutes does exhaust and challenge our bodies both mentally and physically while providing a surprisingly good cardio workout.

Most of us, when asked to move in slow motion, are unable to do so with the same grace and ease as when we do it at regular speed. Normally, we’re able to compensate for any instability in our postures with many little compensating movements which we don’t even notice. When we slow things down, all these nuances can become quite obvious and that’s where we start to understand our own biomechanics.

What is Parkinson’s?

Many people who experience Parkinson’s disease will be able to relate. While each person will have varied experiences, some of the primary motor signs include:

Tremors of the hands, arms, legs, jaw and face

Bradykinesia or slowness of movement

Rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and trunk

Postural instability or impaired balance and coordination

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder which affects the neurons in our brains which produce dopamine. Dopamine is an essential chemical in our brain involved in balancing emotions, affecting learning as well as controlling movement and coordination.

Parkinson’s disease affects 1 in 100 people, typically over the age of 60 years. More recently, people are being diagnosed with Parkinson’s who are under 40 years of age. While medication helps manage the tremors experienced, it is also recommended to include regular physical exercise to slow and prevent the onset of rigidity.

Tai Chi’s Effect on People with Parkinson’s

Practicing tai chi is particularly good for strengthening our lower body and core muscles. We improve our balance and remain more stable when standing, walking, running or performing any type of movement. Tai chi constantly focuses on having us align our body for optimal postures which place the least amount of stress on our bodies while maximizing stability and balance over our feet.

In additional tai chi studies, it was shown that people who had participated in twice weekly sessions of tai chi had much better balance. In fact, their balance was two times better compared to the group which practiced resistance-training and four times better than the stretching group. The tai chi group experienced significantly fewer falls which is a huge side benefit for the older people who experience Parkinson’s. Additionally, the tai chi group ended up with a slower decline in motor control. Avoiding the decline in motor control is a key objective for people who suffer from Parkinson’s disease. It’s the main reason for coupling an exercise program with the medication taken.

Slow Moving Tai Chi Trains Our Bodies for Flexibility and Strength

One of the primary motor signs of Parkinson’s is bradykinesia or slow movement. Bradykinesia is often experienced along with smaller walking strides which is typical of people with Parkinson’s feeling unsteady on their feet, weak and unsure of their balance. Some people find it difficult to get out of chairs or find themselves dragging their feet when muscle strength is lost due to the disease. Tai Chi can reduce the symptoms by increasing flexibility and lower body strength.

Tai chi is practiced slowly with a focus on proper body alignment and balance throughout each movement. In addition, there are a lot of deep squat movements which strengthen the core muscles of the body. Tai chi is extremely effective at increasing lower body strength and biomechanics. People with Parkinson’s can leverage these benefits to increase strength and function while staving off the decline of motor skills & coordination.

Postural Stability is Key to Better Balance

Postural alignment is one of the key foundations of tai chi. Some of the areas of postural focus include:

Lifting of the head

Drawing in the chest

Closing the hips etc.

These are all fundamental requirements to align the body and gently stretch the spine and joints. To practice tai chi properly, one must maintain these elements of proper postural alignment throughout the entire form.

With a focus on postural alignment, people work out the small intrinsic postural muscles in addition to the larger core muscles. The postural muscles are the smaller muscles used in making the minute physical adjustments that provide stability and balance. By focusing on posture, tai chi strengthens and reinforces the use of these smaller intrinsic muscles and not just the longer and larger muscles which get strengthened during movement.

Overall Benefits of Tai Chi for People with Parkinson’s

With a full and complete work out for all the muscles of the body, tai chi improves motor tone and motor control for the whole body. Tai chi is safe with few if any side effects regardless of your fitness level. In fact, tai chi is a completely adjustable and can accommodate people of all fitness levels from the athlete to those who are struggling just to maintain motor control.

It’s been shown that tai chi slows the decline in motor coordination and skills in people with Parkinson’s disease. People with Parkinson’s also fell less often all while increasing their walking stride and the speed of their movements. Each person is unique in their experiences and progression of Parkinson’s but along with proper medication, enjoying tai chi can help people live with Parkinson’s with as much confidence and self-assurance as possible.

The numbers are staggering – one in five – as to how many of us suffer from back pain. In a recent worldwide, back pain is the cause which most often disables us from enjoying daily living while causing many of our work absences too. As we age, the poor postures, weak core muscles, and poor use of our bodies or what we call biomechanics catch up with us.

Medication provides temporary relief from back pain while prevention and true relief from lower back pain means we need to be more aware of how we use our body and strengthening our core muscles.

Tai chi is low impact, slower in motion and pain free exercise with huge gains in strengthening the stabilizer muscles of our body’s core as reported in Harvard Health Publications.

When we understand the typical reasons for back pain, we can avoid back muscle strains by strengthening our bodies so these maneuvers are less likely to affect us.

Tai Chi Movements Reinforce Proper Posture and Support for the Spine

You may be practicing poor standing or sitting habits which lead to poor posture. Do you stand or sit with rounded shoulders, stand with your gut sticking out, slouch when sitting, lean on one leg while standing, stick your chin forward when typing at a computer? Having any of these and other poor postures causes overuse of some muscles and under use of other muscles.

To return our bodies to proper alignment again, we need to strengthen the muscles weakened by poor posture which are typically the stabilizer muscles of the body. In tai chi, alignment and posture is fundamental to every movement. Maintaining the 5 bows structure in our body is one of the key requirements throughout all the movements. The 5 Bows structure is something each person works to maintain not only when standing still but through a wide variety of motions. By doing this we re-train our body for proper posture through a spectrum of movements and poses which allows these new found postural habits to carry over into our daily lives.

Tai Chi is a Core Work Out for the Stabilizer Muscles

Stretching and strengthening core muscles is necessary for a healthy and happy spine. Tai chi engages and demands a wide range of muscles to sustain, extend and contract through a wide range of open and closed body positions. Unlike power muscles, core / stabilizer muscles don’t need to be bulked up with heavy weights used to isolate a specific muscle. Instead, they need to be challenged in a wide range of positions as a group of muscles.

This is exactly why the slow sustained motions of tai chi are so effective not only for working out our stabilizing core muscles but for burning many calories by using multiple muscles and muscle groups simultaneously.

Practice with Proper Techniques to Avoid Back Injuries

Many back injuries or strains are caused by bending our backs and then twisting, or bending our backs and then lifting. The core muscle work out of tai chi improves the strength of not only core but the lower body muscle groups as well so that we are better able to bend or rotate appropriately at the pelvis instead of twisting or hyper-extending the back.

The 5 Bows structure maintains our strength, eliminates stress on our joints or vertebrae while engaging the many stabilizer muscles. By training our bodies to leverage the full support of core muscles, we’re able to avoid many back injuries and live pain free.

Mindfulness & Body Awareness Engages the Body Purposefully

Very often we hurt our backs doing something simple because we are not paying attention to what we’re doing. Tai chi practice trains our minds to focus on movement. Our balance improves, our footwork increases in sensitivity and our muscles become ingrained with new movement patterns due to slower sustained motions which culminate in deep learning results.

Not only is focusing in on our bodies and letting go of our daily stresses great for our mental health but unconsciously, our mind and body become more consciously connected when we move in a highly conscious and purposeful way. After a while, whether we think about it or not, our bodies will use these new connections and patterns unconsciously during daily routines.

Harvard Medical lists tai chi as one of the top exercises for improving balance and proprioception. Proprioception is the awareness of our body in space. Awareness is key to avoiding falls and unwanted twists or turns to our back muscles.

Choose Sustained Lower Intensity Exercise to Improve Core Muscles

Many people remain physically inactive for long periods of time and then engage in sudden bursts of workout. While there may be some value in power burst work outs for weight loss, regular exercise is best for overall health.

When we’ve been sedentary for long periods of time, burst work outs can be a recipe for injuries and muscle strains. Weak or disengaged core muscles can result in back pain from these sudden bursts of physical activity. If you want to engage in burst workouts, start by assuring your body is fit enough to engage in sudden and intense work outs. A good tai chi routine of practicing 2 or 3 times a week is a great basic fitness program or cross-training program for athletes who regularly participate in powerful and highly explosive sports.

It may not provide the burn of a weight training session or an aerobic workout, but after a few weeks, you’ll wonder where you got the sudden burst of power with the same old training program or daily routines.

How does tai chi help to prevent further back pain?

Let’s review the typical core muscles. They include our diaphragm, pelvic muscles, lower abdominal muscle as well as our small spine muscles. These are not the muscles we think of when we think of working out to get stronger which is why improving our core strength is somewhat elusive for many of us.

Tai chi involves relaxation of the abdominal muscles which promotes deep, natural breathing to strengthen the diaphragm; focus on initiating movement from our core known as dan tian in tai chi which strengthens abdominal and pelvic floor muscles; and finally, movements which reach up, down, and rotate around the centre axis to stretch and strengthen our small spine muscles in all directions.

With a regular tai chi work out, gain stretch and strength to avoid injuries and relieve back pain, build body awareness as well as improved body mechanics so daily routines remain enjoyable, relaxing and injury free. Tai chi is undoubtedly one of the best exercises for prevention and relief of back pain.